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The Hikers (2014)

Video documentation of a performance
Single-channel video｜16:9｜HD｜Colour｜03’43”｜Chinese and English subtitle｜Stereo

 

Since the 1950s, a significant number of Mainland Chinese migrants crossed the Shenzhen border into Hong Kong illegally. In an attempt to curb this influx, the British colonial government established the Frontier Closed Area in 1951, extending the border zone along China’s. However, this measure failed to stem the tide of refugees, particularly during the Great Famine (1958–62) and the Cultural Revolution (1966–76).

In 1974, the Hong Kong government introduced the Touch Base Policy, which allowed undocumented migrants to obtain a Hong Kong Identity Card if they managed to reach the urban areas south of Boundary Street in Kowloon. Before making their way into the city, many migrants hid in the Wa Shan area of Sheung Shui, where they also assisted others attempting to cross the border. A discreet system of signals was used—migrants would raise a white flag atop the peak to indicate when the route was clear.

Three decades later, the Hong Kong government lost its legislative and executive control over immigration from Mainland China, marking a profound shift in the city’s border policies and its relationship with the Mainland.

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